Women’s Hockey: Gilmore honored at TD Garden

Friday

Apr 21, 2017 at 12:34 AM

Wayland resident and Noble & Greenough star Rebecca Gilmore was given the John Carlton Memorial Trophy, awarded to the top high school hockey player in Eastern Massachusetts, during a recent Bruins game at TD Garden.

By Mike Biglin/Crier Sports Correspondent

Exactly a month after her high school career ended in heartbreaking fashion, Rebecca Gilmore got to go back rinkside and have one final rewarding moment under the lights.

But instead of being at Flood Rink in Dedham on her campus at the Noble & Greenough School, the Wayland resident was on Causeway Street on the Garden ice, accepting the John Carlton Memorial Trophy from Bruins general manager Don Sweeney.

"Yeah, it was a pretty awesome night," said Gilmore about that April 4 evening that saw the B’s ice the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-0.

The Carlton is awarded to the top high school hockey player in Eastern Massachusetts, and the forward certainly had an exceptional senior season for the Bulldogs. Gilmore had 31 goals and 22 assists for 53 points in just 25 games, powering the Bulldogs to an undefeated Independent School League season and her sixth ISL title.

Gilmore’s quest for a fourth NEPSAC Division 1 title in her six varsity seasons ended in painful fashion, as Kent beat the Bulldogs, 2-1 in triple overtime, in the tournament semifinals. Gilmore logged over 50 minutes of the 90 that were played on that March 4 day at Flood Rink.

"If you’re not going to win it, I couldn’t ask for better way to end my career," said Gilmore. "No one wanted to give up. The resiliency we played with was amazing. Though I don’t want to ever lose, it was still a good way to end my career.

"I played so much that afterward my legs cramped and I couldn’t move," she added. "It was definitely an interesting experience. I’ve never played that much hockey in one day."

Gilmore put the second-seeded Bulldogs into the semifinals three days prior, thanks to her power-play goal late in the third period that gave Nobles a 1-0 win over Williston in the tourney quarterfinals.

"It was a close game just like we expected it would be," she said. "New England prep school hockey, from when I came in as a seventh grader to now as a senior, has just gotten more and more competitive. The talent and growth of women’s hockey as a whole has been amazing to see. We didn’t even know what ranking we were going to get, the top eight were so close, so we knew Williston was going to be tough."

"The goal came late in the third period on a 5-on-3 power play. Right as the first penalty ended, I was able to just put one in. That’s what it took to get that goal. That’s how tough a game it was."

The Bulldogs finished 26-4-1 on the season. Gilmore was named to the All-ISL team for the third time, won the league MVP award and was a NEPSAC first-team all-star for the third time. In her six-season career at Nobles, she had 128 goals and 106 assists for 234 points in just 168 games. Winning the Carlton was the perfect topper to her historic career.

"I’ve always known about the Carlton Award, because Nobles had a lot of students win that," she said. "It’s one of the best awards I’ve won. It’s a real honor, because it’s not just about the hockey part but also about the student part, and I take both seriously. There were a lot of great players in the running, so it was pretty awesome to get it."

Gilmore is now gearing up for her final weeks of high school and her graduation on June 2. Then, she’ll be working out all summer getting ready for her freshman season at Harvard starting in the fall.

"I’m really excited," said Gilmore, who committed to the Crimson after her sophomore season. "It’s a really great program with three great coaches."

The Crimson surprisingly struggled this past season, going 5-19-5, but Gilmore is excited about helping turn that around.

"I know the team is full of great girls who are hardworking and have a lot of talent," she said. "I’m excited to get on the ice. I’m definitely going to push this summer to come to school in the best shape to do my part."

What will help Gilmore is her international experience with the U.S. youth national teams. She played three years with the under-18s, winning two world gold medals, and last summer spent her first camp with the under-22s.

"That was a really great wake-up call, playing for the under-22s," she said. "You’re playing with the best players from the best hockey schools in the country. So I know what to expect in terms of speed and level of play, and I think that will help me tremendously when I move up to the college game."

Just a few days after accepting the Carlton Award, Gilmore was out in Plymouth, Mich., for the youth nationals, and got to witness the thrilling 3-2 overtime victory by Team USA over Canada in the gold medal final at the IIHF women’s world championships. Her goal is to be a part of that squad in the years to come.